12,495 Shares in National Fuel Gas Company $NFG Bought by Burford Brothers Inc.

Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 12,495 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NFG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 30.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 159,953 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,667,000 after purchasing an additional 36,913 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Fuel Gas in the first quarter valued at about $247,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 3.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 220,730 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,480,000 after acquiring an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of National Fuel Gas by 79.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Fuel Gas during the first quarter worth about $138,000. 73.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Fuel Gas Price Performance

NFG opened at $79.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.53. National Fuel Gas Company has a 12-month low of $75.17 and a 12-month high of $97.06.

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $858.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $856.57 million. National Fuel Gas had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Research analysts predict that National Fuel Gas Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Fuel Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from National Fuel Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. National Fuel Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded National Fuel Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut National Fuel Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on National Fuel Gas in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

National Fuel Gas Profile

National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) is a diversified energy company engaged primarily in the production, gathering, transmission, distribution and marketing of natural gas. The company operates through four principal segments: Exploration & Production, Pipeline & Storage, Utilities, and Energy Marketing. Its integrated asset base spans upstream development in the Appalachian Basin, regional pipeline networks, underground storage facilities, and regulated utility distribution systems.

In its Exploration & Production segment, National Fuel Gas focuses on developing natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shales, leveraging modern drilling and completion techniques.